


If this isn't nice, I don't know what is

by themoonowl



Series: A Real Hero [28]
Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Cybernetics, Fluff, M/M, Mass Effect 3, Moving In Together, Napping, Nerdiness, Samed Being An Awkward Boy Scout, Talking, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, mention of parents - Freeform, sorta - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-15
Updated: 2019-10-15
Packaged: 2020-12-17 02:24:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21046754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/themoonowl/pseuds/themoonowl





	If this isn't nice, I don't know what is

The floor moved under Samed's feet. Or—he moved on it. That's how this had ended up last time, only Chakwas—she told him not to call her that. Only Karin—that was more like it—didn't end up on one of the beds in the medbay this time.

Samed glanced over at the mess and his stomach turned. Nope, no food. Some rest should do him good now. Keep the brandy down, give his enhanced liver time to process all of it.

He walked up to the elevator—somehow—and pressed the button to call it. The words "Starboard Observation" on his left caught his sight as he stood there with his back against the outer casing. He should check in with the Major. He might want to join. He'd been  _ joining _ almost every night really.

Samed hauled himself to the door and pressed on the holo. It opened to a dark head of hair behind the backrest of the main couch, not even flinching from the noise.

Four silent steps and Samed gripped the shoulders of this dark haired man, letting his hands slide to his chest in a hug and pressed his face to his as the scent of cologne and ozone filled his senses. Samed turned, gave him a kiss on the cheek and focused his sight on the letters in front of him. “Good book?”

“Yeah. It’s—wait. I smell brandy. Alright,” he softly chuckled. “What have you been up to?”

“Had some drinks with Karin. Every year we open a Serrice Ice Brandy just to celebrate being alive.”

“Karin? You mean Dr. Chakwas? Didn’t know you two are on a first-name basis.”

“Oh, she still won’t call me by my first name. Something about galaxy, honor… I don’t know.”

"Such a shame. Well I like your name. Samed. Rolls off the tongue, really." Kaidan turned and his lips pressed on his, softly smiling under his breath. "Mmm. Come here."

Samed climbed over the backrest, and with a bounce landed on the cushions; his head on the Major’s lap.

“Well that sure is one way to do it.” He closed his book and leaned down, planting the lightest kiss on Samed's lips. "So, how much did you two drink?"

"I think half a bottle's left standing."

"Half a bottle. Damn, Shepard. If that were me, I'd be on the floor right now."

"Well I'm not on the floor. I'm on your thighs." Samed "fired" two shots from his fingers at the Major.

"Heheh, well."

"So. Good book?" Samed leaned into his lap and made himself even cozier. Kaidan put one hand through Samed’s hair and one hand on his chest, which Samed idly touched.

"Yeah. It's old science fiction actually. You know, it's kinda funny. People in the past had absolutely no idea what they're in for. I mean, space travel? Sure. But Reapers?"

The Major continued talking. Maybe it was all the brandy he'd drank, but he looked damn good from where Samed stood—laid. From where he laid. Kaidan gently scratched Samed’s head and his other arm made a small twitching motion every time he'd get really into whatever he was saying with that sweet voice of his.

"And this guy from Terra, Genly Ai gets sent to investigate." Kaidan turned amber eyes on him, almost like he'd just finished asking something and Samed snapped back to the present.

"Uh, yeah. I completely agree."

"Agree? Were you even—oh. Right."

"Sorry Major. It's just." Samed lifted himself up and put an arm around the Major's neck. "You're so damn distracting. In the best way."

Kaidan regarded him with narrowed eyes and Samed could barely hear the " _ why the hell are you this smooth sometimes _ " that Kaidan muttered under his breath. "Fine. All is forgiven. For now."

Samed grinned and landed his head back in his lap. "I think I heard something about a Genly? Sounds familiar." Samed turned and grabbed the book in his hands— _ The Left Hand Of Darkness _ said the cover—and placed the book back next to him. "Didn't know you liked LeGuin, Major."

"I started this one right before we left Earth. It's good stuff. Only thing I had on me when I left, really. But hey." Kaidan's eyes lit up. "Didn't know you liked sci-fi."

"Really? I have a whole ship collection in my cabin. Didn't that give it away?"

"Hey, assembling ships is only one way of being a hopeless nerd."

"Heh yeah, well. I read this one a long time ago. It's nice. I'm not much for books, only know Left Hand because my mom brought it back from one of her trips. Now  _ she _ was really into sci-fi."

"Oh?"

"Yeah." Samed flicked his omni on and searched through his folders. He opened the folder named Hadia Art and opened a picture that showed the city of Trathe at night, its streets filled with humans walking alongside holograms.

"This is one of her paintings. I always forget the names, but I think this one was called  _ Syn-Trathic _ , a sort of mix of the words synthetic and the city name.” He chuckled a bit before continuing, “She had a thing for puns."

"Heh. Guess that runs in the family. But, uh, this reminds me a bit of Singapore actually."

"Oh? Wasn't that where you got exposed?"

"Yeah. Also where my mom's from. Did you know she proposed to my dad on top of the Tanjong Pagar Centre?" Kaidan sprung up his omni, typed something in and displayed a picture of a large tower bathed in pink and blue lights.

"Huge building. And that's really sweet. Is there a story?"

"Yeah." He pulled down the display and continued. "Dad was about to be deployed—again—and she just—took her chances. Brought him there and just pulled out a ring." Kaidan exhaled and sadness filled his honey eyes.

"I'm sorry about your dad, Kaidan."

"It's fine. Just, huh. Memories, I guess."

"We can talk about something else, if you want."

"No, it's fine." He sighed. "Remember what you said once? Talking about the, uh, yeah—means honoring them?"

Samed's stomach fluttered and a smile tugged at the side of his lips. First the  _ arak _ and now this. The Major made quite the attentive boyfriend.

"Well, yeah. I want to, uh, honor him, I suppose." He exhaled and gave a warm smile. "I think he would've liked you, actually. I mean, heh. Military man with a Star of Terra? He would've greeted you with a salute. And then gave you one of his strongest beers."

"Strongest beers, eh? A man after my own heart." Samed then lowered his voice. "I bet he's proud of you, Kaidan. His son is a Spectre that fights Reapers. Head of Biotics Division. You've done a hell of a lot."

"Oh, he saluted when I broke the news about Biotics Division. Told him, it's just a teaching job, you know? But he was just so damn happy. Pulled out the heavy brew that day too. Wasted—that's what we were by the end. Taught my first class hungover the next morning." He softly chuckled.

"Heh. Did your students notice?"

"Oh, they did. I think it was Jason that got up and said ' _ Yo, you need some more booze for that headache, pops? _ ' And everyone just lost it. Yeah. Good kids. Hope they're kicking ass right now."

"They had the best teacher." Samed reached out a hand and stroked the stubble on Kaidan's face.

Kaidan sighed. "Man, I miss those kids. Huh. Never thought I'd miss being a teacher."

"Maybe when this is over, you could go back to that."

"Hm. It's tempting. But what are you gonna do? When this is over, I mean."

"I haven't given it much thought, to be frank. Maybe settle down? Those six months in lockup did wonders for me. And after this war… Some peace and quiet would do me good."

"Got anywhere specific you, uh, wanna settle down? Mindoir, maybe?"

Tightness gripped Samed's chest and his fingers twitched on Kaidan's face like overloaded wires. The last time he went there, it felt...wrong and weird. It was still the same house, everything still there, just. Forever stained.

"No." Samed swallowed. "I can't. It's—"

"Sorry. Didn't mean to strike a nerve."

"Maybe one day, but I can't stay. It just feels so. Wrong."

Kaidan moved his hand from Samed’s chest to his face, gently cupping his cheek. "Hope my place won't feel like that when I get back."

Samed sank into his hand and huddled just a bit closer. He was warm, nice and relaxing, and the thoughts about his parents’ home on Mindoir sort of—slipped away with ease. "I think I do have a specific place in mind, actually. I mean, I only saw it through a window those six months, but—I really liked Vancouver. So maybe—there?"

Samed could swear Kaidan's lips formed a smile for just a fraction of a second before straightening up. "You know, it gets pretty rainy in Vancouver. Plus a bad winter here or there. You sure you'd be up for that?"

Samed's mind went back to his time in lockup. It was only November and Vancouver already had minus temperatures and centimetres of snow. And he watched all of it from the comfort of that apartment complex they put him in. Maybe it was one of those bad winters, but.

"Well, when you put it that way," he said in a playful tone, but Kaidan thinned his lips.

His faint smile from before however, was still on Samed's mind as his fingers gently scratched Samed's head.

It was almost an unspoken wish. The Reapers would be defeated and Samed would be in the same place he was now, only instead of the endless starry sky from the Normandy's window, it would be snow or rain raging outside as both he and Kaidan watched the scene from their warm home.

Kaidan's gentle fingers slowly continued their trail to his forehead, temples and…

* * *

…Samed was asleep. On his lap.

He laid there with his mouth slightly parted and his eyes closed, looking so damn peaceful. Kaidan snuck in a small kiss that made those full lips form the barest hint of a smile.

He grabbed his book and continued reading about Genly Ai's adventures on Gethen. He held it with his right hand and idly trailed circles around Samed's soft curls with the other.

Yeah. This was nice.

Until Kaidan's legs went numb.

_ If a cat falls asleep on you, you don't move. _ That was the rule, yeah. But this wasn't a cat, this was his special guy. He slept so soundly and peacefully and—yeah, no. Not waking him up. It was nice just having him here, his legs be damned.

So he stayed, his fingers still occupied with Samed's short curls.

Until he had to pee. Great.

Kaidan put the book away and gave Samed another kiss, a longer one this time. Samed's nose crinkled, he smiled and said something under his breath that didn't sound like English before turning to the side, pressing right on Kaidan's bladder. Crap. More drastic measures were required.

"Samed." He tried shaking him gently. "Samed. Hey. Wake up."

Samed grumbled something in that deep voice of his and opened his eyes. "Mmm. You're a good sight." He stretched and finally got up—thank god. "How long was I out?"

"About an hour, I'd say?"

"Mmm. That was one hell of a nap."

"Wait. You don't have a hangover or something?"

"I don't get them anymore. Not since my body's full of cybernetics." Samed scratched his eyes and yawned. "Think I'll continue this nap in a real bed. Wanna join?"

"That'd be great. If I can move my legs—even better!"

"Kaidan. You should've woken me up."

"Nah nah, it's—it's fine. It was nice, really. Got to just—" Nasty shivers ran down Kaidan's leg. Blood was flowing again, that was good. Sure didn't feel that way.

"Need me to carry you up?"

"I'd take you up on that offer, but uh first. I need to get my stuff. Toothbrush, some clean clothes, all that."

"That reminds me." Samed shifted a bit and sat cross-legged, facing him. He cleared his throat from the sleepiness in his voice and straightened. "I know it's been a month or so, but I was wondering. Wanna bunk with me?"

This wasn't just a one time offer to share a bed for the night; there had been plenty of those ever since they'd made it official. No, this was moving in. Only on a ship. Things were moving fast, alright.

If any of his exes had asked something like this so soon, he'd bolt. Well no, he wouldn't do  _ that _ —but he'd definitely reject the offer. But this—this felt just about right, for some reason. Maybe it was the fact that they were in the middle of a war. Or maybe because this whole thing he and Samed had was years overdue. Who knows what it was. Soon or not, it just felt right. It wouldn't even be that out of the ordinary, he was there almost every day of the week. Hell, that weekend after Eden Prime, he didn't even leave Samed's place.

Another nasty shiver shook both of Kaidan’s feet and he let out a hiss. Some time must've passed after Samed's question because he continued, "You can say no, by the way. I know it's too soon for this," he said as he scratched the back of his neck.

"It's not." Kaidan tried to speak through hisses as his legs practically tickled from inside. "It's not too soon." He rubbed his calves. "The answer is yes. Just. Oh god, I hate this," Kaidan said through groans and turned to Samed and his excited smile. A smile just for him. For such a big damn hero, he sure was cute.

"So. Uh. Guess I should make some room, then. How much space do you need for your stuff?"

Kaidan felt a flutter form in his chest. Man, hearing that was so weird and endearing at the same time. They'd be sharing a room together. Just a room. Not a whole apartment or anything. But still. He'd wake up every morning next to him. Fall asleep too. Crap, it's only been a month. A  _ month _ . He should be more freaked out about this, and yet.

"Uh. A drawer, I guess? Didn't have much on me when I left Earth, it's just uniforms mostly. And this book too, but I think I'll leave it here."

"You can take that too if you want. I have some free space on the desk. I mean, your choice."

Kaidan sighed in a chuckle. "We're being so awkward about this."

"Heh, yeah. But I just want to make sure. Are you absolutely sure you want to do this, Kaidan? I don't want to—"

"Yes! I mean I'm already there most nights, so why not take the leap, you know? I'd be waking up next to my special guy every morning. It sounds well—nice."

"Yeah. It really does." Samed let out a sigh of relief.

"So yeah. A drawer should be fine. If I need more room, I'll let you know. But I doubt it."

"Alright. Off to free you up a drawer I guess."

"Yeah. And I'm off to, um, pack? I suppose?" Using his arms, Kaidan shifted over to where Samed sat and gave him a small peck on the lips. "Shouldn't take long."

"Holding you to that, Major." He did that finger-gun motion again and left, the door closing behind him.

There he went, his special guy. Kaidan stood up after some time and headed to the crew quarters to pack. As he folded and put all of his seven uniforms in a bag, his thoughts lingered on the whole evening, especially one small part.

_ I really liked Vancouver. So maybe—there? _

Warmth bounced inside his chest. Man, it was early to think about, well, all of this. Maybe once this war would be over, and if the whole room situation would turn out okay—they could share an actual place?

Images flashed in front of his eyes of him making breakfast for two or just sitting on the couch, like they did now, watching TV. Just simple things like that. It sounded really fucking good.


End file.
